Archery sight

ABSTRACT

A sighting element for use with an archery bow includes a body having a tapered passageway established therethrough. The tapered passageway has a narrower end opening at a first end of the body and a wider end opening at a second end of the body, with the second end being opposite the first end. The body is configured to attach at an archery bow such that, when the sighting element is attached at the archery bow, the narrower end of the tapered passageway is nearer to an eye of the archer than the wider end of the tapered passageway.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/300,199, filed Feb. 1, 2010, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to archery sights for aiding an archer in aiming an arrow at a target and, more particularly, to a string-mounted archery sight for aiding an archer when aiming or lining the archer's sight with the target when the bow string is drawn back to fire an arrow.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known to provide peep sights for use at a bow string of an archery bow to assist the archer in lining up his or her shot at a target. Such peep sights typically comprise generally cylindrical shaped sighting elements having a cylindrical passageway therethrough.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a string-mounted sight or sighting element that attaches to or mounts to the bow string of an archery bow and that has a passageway therethrough that provides a line of sight toward the target when the archer draws the bow string back to fire an arrow. The passageway of the sight is tapered and has a narrowed or narrower opening at the end closest to the archer's eye when the sight is attached to the bow string and a wider or larger opening at the opposite end away from the archer's eye when the sight is attached to the bow string. Thus, the sight provides a larger field of view for the archer when viewing through the sight and the tapered passageway directs more light to the archer's eye to enhance viewing of the target or target area through the sight by the archer when the archer draws back the bow string to fire an arrow at and toward a target.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a method of aiming an archery arrow at a target includes providing a sighting element comprising a body having a tapered passageway established therethrough, wherein the tapered passageway has a narrower end opening at a first end of the body and a wider end opening at a second or opposite end of the body. The sighting element is attached (such as by an archer preparing to aim an arrow at a target) at a bow string of an archery bow such that, when the sighting element is attached at the archery bow, the narrower end of said tapered passageway is nearer to an eye of the archer than the wider end of the tapered passageway. The archer then may aim the archery arrow by viewing the target through the tapered passageway of the sighting element at the bow string of the archery bow. The archer, when drawing the bow string back (with an arrow nocked at the bow string) may view the target through the tapered passageway of the sighting element, and may release the bow string to fire the arrow at the target when the target is generally centered in the archer's field of view through the tapered passageway of the sighting element.

These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of the present invention will become apparent upon review of the following specification in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a sighting element in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the sighting element of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the sighting element of FIG. 1, as viewed at the end that is closest to the archer's eye when the sighting element is normally attached to a bow string; and

FIG. 4 is an end view of the sighting element as viewed at the opposite end of the sighting element from the end shown in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depicted therein, a sight or sighting element 10 for an archer comprises a generally cylindrical body portion 11 having a tapered passageway 12 established therethrough. As best shown in FIG. 2, tapered passageway 12 has a first or narrowed or narrower end 12 a that has a first of narrower or smaller diameter opening at an end 11 a of body 11, and a second or opposite or wider end 12 b that has a second or wider or larger diameter opening at an opposite end 11 b of body, where the wider opening at end 12 b is larger than the first or narrower opening at end 12 a. The tapered passageway 12 provides enhanced viewing through the sighting element 10, as discussed below.

In the illustrated embodiment, and as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, sighting element 10 comprises a string-mounted sighting element and includes angled grooves or notches 14 established along the outer surface 11 c of body 11 of the sighting element 10 for receiving a portion of the bow string 16 (FIG. 1) at both sides of the sighting element 10, so as to retain sighting element 10 at the bow string 16. The channels or grooves 14 are established along the body 11 of sighting element 10 at a desired angle, such that, when the bow string is drawn back a desired amount by the archer, the longitudinal axis 12 c of passageway 12 is generally along the line of sight or sight path from the archer's eye to the target or target area, such as is known in the art of peep sights or sighting elements for archers. Optionally, other means for attaching or mounting or positioning the sighting element at the bow string or bow so as to be viewed through by the archer may be implemented while remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Tapered passageway 12 of sighting element 10 provides an enhanced sighting or viewing experience for the archer using the sighting element 10. During use, the archer, when the sighting element 10 is attached to the bow string 16 and the bow string is drawn back with an arrow (not shown), positions his or her eye at or near the sighting element 10 and at or near the narrower end 12 a of tapered passageway 12, and views through passageway 12 (such as shown in FIG. 3) toward the target area. The tapered passageway 12 widens or diverges in the direction away from the archer's eye, and thus provides the archer with a greater field of view of the target area and allows for a greater amount of light to be received by the archer's eye, so as to improve or enhance viewing of the target area while lining up the arrow for a shot. Also, because the inner wall or surface of the body within the passageway of the sighting element diverges or widens away from the archer's eye, the diverging or tapered or widening passageway may reduce the amount of glare or reflection of light incident on the inner surface that reflects off the inner surface of the body towards the narrow end of the passageway and towards the archer's eye, thereby reducing glare or light reflection that may be viewable by and distracting to the archer when the archer is viewing the target through the sighting element.

In the illustrated embodiment, the tapered passageway 12 is defined or established by an inner wall or surface 11 d of body 11, such as a conical inner wall or surface of body 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the conical inner wall or surface 11 d of body 11 comprises a generally straight or conical shaped wall between the narrower end 12 a and the wider end 12 b of the tapered passageway. However, other forms or wall configurations may be implemented while remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, it is envisioned that the tapered passageway may have curved or rounded wall portions (that are curved longitudinally at least partially along the body) at the narrower end and/or at the wider end to provide a rounded transition at either end or both ends of the body of the sighting element. Optionally, it is further envisioned that the inner wall or surface of the body may be arcuate or curved or non-straight between the narrower end and the wider end of the passageway, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The sighting element may have any suitable angle or degree of taper between the narrow end and wide end of the passageway. For example, a sighting element of the present invention may have an opening/passageway diameter at a narrow end of about 4 mm or thereabouts (or more or less depending on the particular application, such as about 5.5 mm or thereabouts for a larger passageway sighting element) while the wide end of the passageway of the sighting element may have an opening/passageway diameter of about 6 5 mm or thereabouts (or more or less depending on the particular application, such as about 8 mm or thereabouts for a larger passageway sighting element), with the tapered passageway widening from the narrow end to the wide end (and spanning a length of, for example, about 5.5 mm or thereabouts). Optionally, any other narrow end and wide end diameters and/or combination of diameters at the opposite ends of the sighting element and/or any other lengths of the sighting element may be implemented to provide the desired angle or taper of the passageway along and through the sighting element, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The body of the sighting element may be formed of any suitable material, such as a metallic material, such as aluminum or the like, or a polymeric material (such as a molded or extruded engineering plastic or the like). Optionally, the body may be painted or coated or processed to provide a desired color and/or finish at the outer surface and/or inner surface of the body. Optionally, the tapered or conical inner wall or surface within the body may be painted or coated with a light reflecting coating or paint to enhance reflection of light incident thereon, or with a light absorbing or diffusing coating or paint to reduce reflection of light incident thereon, depending on the desired degree of reflection of light within and along the tapered passageway and depending on the particular application of the sighting element.

Therefore, the sighting element of the present invention has a tapered sight passageway therethrough to provide enhanced viewing through the sighting element by an archer using the sighting element to align a shot with a target or target area. The tapered passageway provides a wider field of view to the archer and may allow a greater amount of light to reach the archer's eye, thereby enhancing the viewing of the target area. The sighting element may be readily attached to the bow string and used by an archer when the archer draws the arrow and bow string back to take a shot at a target or target area.

Changes and modifications to the specifically described embodiments may be carried out without departing from the principles of the present invention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims as interpreted according to the principles of patent law. 

1. A sighting element for use with an archery bow, said sighting element comprising: a body having a tapered passageway established therethrough, said tapered passageway having a narrower end opening at a first end of said body and a wider end opening at a second end of said body, said second end being opposite said first end; and wherein said body is configured to attach at an archery bow such that, when said sighting element is attached at the archery bow, said narrower end of said tapered passageway is nearer to an eye of the archer than said wider end of said tapered passageway.
 2. The sighting element of claim 1, wherein said body has a pair of angled channels established along an outer surface thereof and at generally opposite regions of said body for at least partially receiving a portion of a bow string of the archery bow to position and attach said sighting element at the bow string.
 3. The sighting element of claim 1, wherein said body has an inner wall that defines said tapered passageway.
 4. The sighting element of claim 3, wherein said inner wall comprises an inner conical-shaped wall.
 5. The sighting element of claim 3, wherein at least a portion of said inner wall is longitudinally curved.
 6. The sighting element of claim 3, wherein said inner wall comprises a light reflecting surface to enhance reflection of light incident thereon.
 7. The sighting element of claim 3, wherein said inner wall comprises a light absorbing or diffusing surface to reduce reflection of light incident thereon.
 8. A sighting element for use with an archery bow, said sighting element comprising: a body having a tapered passageway established therethrough, said tapered passageway having a narrower end opening at a first end of said body and a wider end opening at a second end of said body, said second end being opposite said first end, and wherein said body has generally conical-shaped inner wall that defines said tapered passageway; wherein said body is configured to attach at an archery bow and wherein said body has a pair of angled channels established along an outer surface thereof and at generally opposite regions of said body for at least partially receiving a portion of a bow string of the archery bow to position and attach said sighting element at the bow string; and wherein, when said sighting element is attached at the bow string of the archery bow, said narrower end of said tapered passageway is nearer to an eye of the archer than said wider end of said tapered passageway.
 9. The sighting element of claim 8, wherein at least a portion of said inner wall is longitudinally curved.
 10. The sighting element of claim 8, wherein said inner wall comprises a light reflecting surface to enhance reflection of light incident thereon.
 11. The sighting element of claim 8, wherein said inner wall comprises a light absorbing or diffusing surface to reduce reflection of light incident thereon.
 12. A method of aiming an archery arrow at a target, said method comprising: providing a sighting element comprising a body having a tapered passageway established therethrough, wherein said tapered passageway has a narrower end opening at a first end of said body and a wider end opening at a second end of said body, said second end being opposite said first end; attaching said sighting element at a bow string of an archery bow such that, when said sighting element is attached at the archery bow, said narrower end of said tapered passageway is nearer to an eye of the archer than said wider end of said tapered passageway; and aiming the archery arrow by the archer viewing the target through said tapered passageway of said sighting element at the bow string of the archery bow.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein attaching said sighting element at a bow string comprises positioning said sighting element at a bow string of an archery bow such that a pair of angled channels established along an outer surface of said body of said sighting element and at generally opposite regions of said body at least partially receive a portion of the bow string to position and attach said sighting element at the bow string.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein said body has an inner wall that defines said tapered passageway.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein said inner wall comprises an inner conical-shaped wall.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein at least a portion of said inner wall is longitudinally curved.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein said inner wall comprises a light reflecting surface to enhance reflection of light incident thereon.
 18. The method of claim 14, wherein said inner wall comprises a light absorbing or diffusing surface to reduce reflection of light incident thereon. 